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III
SPRING CLOAK IN THE EMPI
LONG TIGHT-FITTIN(
WILD COSSACK RIDERS.
rwo Amierican4 Saw Them ireak Wintet bt
Camp in Turkestan.
In The Century, Messrs. Allen and
Sachtleben. who went around the at
world on Ufcycles, give the following tj
tecount of oie of their experiences in in
Turke-tan: tl<
Une of the chief incidents of our ..
pleasant sojou: n was afforded by Gov- Si
trnor ivanotf. We were invited to w
hea I the procession of the Cossacks p(
an their annual departure for their cl
summer encamLpment in the mount- ri
ains. After the usual religious cere- at
mony, they tiled out of the city pa- fo
rade-ground. Being unavoidably de- It
tained for a few moments, we did not Ir
come up until some time after the w
columa had started. As we dashed b;
by to the front with the Atuerican g(
and Russian fars uteing side by pE
side from the handie-bars, cheerafter ct
cheer arose from the ranks, and even er
the Governor and his party doffed m
their caps in acknowledgnent. At. sD
the camp we we e favored with a ar
special exhibition of horsemanship. sil
By a single twist of the reins the gI
steeds wouil Ifall to the ground, and ai
their riders crouch beh~nd them as a in
bulwaric in battle. Then dashing w.
forward at full speed, they would ti
spring to the ground, and leap back C<
again into the saddle, or, hanging by pr
their legs would reach over and picT ed
up a handkerchief, cap, or a soldier be
suoposed to De wounded. All these
movements we photographed with m
our camera. Of the endurance of ti
these Co sacks and their Kirghiz to
horses we had a practical test. Over
taking a Cossack courier in the early d;
part of the day's journey, he became
so interested in the velocipene, as ir
the Russians call the bicycle, that he a
determined to see as much of it as o'
possible. He staved with us the b(
whole day, over a distance of fifty- or
five miles. His chief compensation ti
was in witnessing the surprise or the
natives, to whom he would shout us
ac~oss the fields to come and see the se
tomasha, adding in explanation that
we were tfle American gentlemen sc
who had ridden all the way from si
America. Our speed was not slow. 1r
and frequently the poor fellow would cr
have to resort toi the whip, or shout: bi
"Sbowly, gentlemen, my horse is3 tired.
the town is not far away; it Is not m
neccessary to hurry so." The fact is p
that in all our experience we found di
no horse of even the famed Kirghi7 yi
Dr Turkoman breed that couid travel
with the same ease and rapidity as
ourselves even over the most ordinary
road. ________
Too 'zany or Tnem Married.
A curious and somewhat pathetic
Atory comes from Edinburgh, Sc:ot- p
land. The Cameron High) enders,
hiho until recently formed the gar- i
rison of that city, received orders for is
Malta. The regiment had been sta
tioned in the city .during a longer
period than is usual, and it was dis
tovered on their <lepa'rture that no p
less than 250 soldiers had married, in
dlefiance of the army regulations. n
The wives, on the departure of their j
husbands, had to be left behind. Not sa
more. than 4 per cent. of a regiment is n
gllowed the privilege of taking wives 1
with them on their travels, and these r
must have had permission to marry. Pr
Much sympathy is felt in the city for
the wives left behind. Seeing that a t
private soldier can send home only a la
small sum of money weekly, even
under the most favorable conditions, 1
the lot of the unfortunate wives is 41.
most pitable one A public fund is -
being raised for their assistance. ru
Bare-Faced Robbery.Bj
'-That's what I call hare-faced rob- rn
nery," said the man~ who kicks. to
"lecen having troubie?" "Indeed ] an
have. That barber has just charged lii
mec :5 cunts for a shave."-D~etroit ea
Free Press. c
CAOT HA AND4~ CAE.
RE STYLE, AND HALF
- VELVET COAT.
HAD A POWER OF ETERNITY.
Lke Was Wak In Legal Lore but Stronu
In Dog and Gun.
"Speaking of the term power o
torney,' " said a well-known lawye
e other day to a New York Even
g Sun man, "reminds me of a lit
a incident that occurred to Judgi
-and myself last spring up it
llivan County. We were out for i
ek's trouting and determined t4
ach on the preserves of a tishins
ab which had secured control of tho
ver for a distance of several mile!
d where public fisning was strictlj
rbidden. We knew that part o:
e creek was guarded by an olc
ishman in the employ of the club
ho patrolled the banks, accompaniet
a fe.ocious-looking bull dog and;
Ln identified with the revolutionar
riod, but we decided to taki
ances rather than return witi
apty creels. So on the . followinj
arning jLust at the peep of day, w(
eaked up creek, through the woods
id struck in at a point just out o
ht of the club house. We bad
rious time until about 9 o'clocli
d had filled our creels to the crowd
g point when suddenly old Mike,
th his dog and gun, appeared om
e opposite bank. 'fley, ye divils
me out 0' thot!' he shouted. We
etended not to hear, meanwhile
ging over toward the opposit<
nk.
" 'Av yez don't come out Oi'll sF
e dog on yez!' roared Mike. Thi:
ne 1 looked up, but pretended nol
understand.
"'Yes!' I shouted back, 'it's a fini
,y!'
"'A foine day is it?' bellowed the
ate Celt: 'Shure ye'il think it's
ommed bad day if yez don't corn
~er here out co' thot!' And Miki
~gan to linger the antique muskel
inously. I began to think it wa!
e to temporize.
" 'By what authority do you ordei
out of this stream?' I asked as
erely as I could.
"'Be what autoority is it!
eamed Mike, 'be what autoority!
ure an' i'd have yez know tho'
e full power av eternity over thi
ek, an' av yez don't come out 1'1
w the top o' yer heads off.'
"This was too much. We didn'1
ne the clog or the gun, but a 'ful
wer of eternity' was something w4
in't want to contend with, so wv
lded and left the stream."
Victoria's Crown.
The crown of the Queen ot Grea1
itain and Ireland, made in 1838 b3
mdell & Bridge, has been estimate(
be of the value of ?300,000. I1
~ighs nearly two pounds and corn
ses more than 3,000 preciou
nes, of which five-sixths are dia
nds. The lower part of the band
a row of 129 pearls, the upper parl
112.
Between them, in front, is a largi
phire. Behind Is a smaller sap
ire, with six others and eight emer
is. Between the two great sap
ires are ornaments containing 284
monds. Above the band are eighi
pphires surmounted by eight dia
nds, and eight festoons containinlg
0 diamonds. In the front of th<
wn is the ruby given to the Blacl
ince by Pedro, King of Castile
is is set in a Maltese cross, anc
ming the cross are seventy-fivy
ge diamonds.
Three other crosses, containing 384
monds, are around the upper para
the crown. Between the fou:
sses are four ornaments with fou:
bies in the center, and containing
~pctively eighty-four, eighty-six
hty-flye and eighty-seven dia
nds. From the Maltese cross rise
r arches, composed of oak leave|
d acorns, the leaves containing 72!
monds. The thirty-two acorns are
h of a single pearl and are set ir
ps made of fifty-four diamonds
ove the arch stands the mound
taining 548 diamonds, and abovi
e mound is the cross, containing
ry large sapphire, four very largi
d 108 smaller diamonds. All thi
nes are genuine, and not, as i1
e other European crowns, colore<
ass, which has replaced the gen
e stones.-Retail Jeweler.
A Qua ifrng Article.
Teacher-In what manner is an ad
tive employed? Pupil-It is use
qualify a noun. Teacher-Giv
e an illustration. Pupil-Wateri
adjective. Teacher--What? iPu
--It is used to qualify whisky.
son Transcript
iEisTRtY always raises the bes1
etale in its nwn garden.
Tolls of AuthOrshp.
The craft of authorship ts by no
means so easy of practice as is gen
rally imagined by the thousands who
aspire to it. Almost all our works,
whether of knowledge or of fancy,
have been the products of much exer
tion and study.
Pope published nothing until it had
Deen a year or two before him, and
even then his printer's proofs were
very full of alterations; and on one
occasion Dodsley (his publisher)
thought it better to have the whole
matter recomposed than make the
corrections.
Golasmith considered four lines a
day very good, and it took him seven
years to beat out the pure gold of
"The Deserted Village." Hume wrote
his "History of England" on a sofa,
and he went on quietly correcting
every edition until his death.
Robertson used to write out his
sentences on small slips of paper,
and after rounding and polishing
them to his satisfaction he entered
them in a book; which, in its turn,
underwent considerable revision.
Burke, the eloquent statesman and
author, had all his principal works
printed two or three times at a pri
vate press before submitting them to
Iiis publisher. Akenside an1 Gray
were indefatigable correctors, labor
ing over every line; but how fine is
the "Elegy" of Gray. The imagina
tive poet Thomson was of the same
category, and upon comparing the
first and latest editions of the "Sea
sons" there will be found scarcely a
page which does not bear evidence of
his taste and industry.
Johnson used to think that the
poems lost much of their raciness un
der such a severe regimen. He and
Gibbon were the least laborious in t
arranging their copy tor the press.
Gibbon sent the first and only MS. of
his stupendous work "Decline and
Fall," to his printer, and Johnson's
high sounding sentences were written
almost without an effort.
The loving lingering of Tennyson
over his poems and the frequent al
terations, not in every case improve
inents perhaps,. that appear in suc
cessive editions of his works an fa
nillar to all his admirer.
1
1
t
DRESS WITH SHOULDER
FLAPS.
The Disappearing Desert.
It is not at all unlikely that in the
twentieth century the desert of Sa
hara will have disappeared as com
pletely from the maps as the Great
American Desert has done in the nine
teenth. In the year 1857 the French
engineer, M. Jus, proved that that
portion of the Sahara Desert included
within the area of French Algeria
contained large underground supplies
of water, and the number of wells
bored since that time in the depart-8
inents of Algiers, Gran, and Constan- 2
ine, amounts to more than 13,000.
These wells vary from 100 to 400 feet .
In depth, and the pressure of the
water forces it a couple of feet above
the surface of the ground. It is then ~
led to ditches, and is carried in this
. ayt the vineyards, date trees, and
wheat fields. No fewer than 12,000,
~00 acres of barren land have been
;nade fruitful in this way, an enter
~rise representing perhaps the most
remarkable example of irrigation by
pneans of artesian wells which cant
(mywhere be found. Algeria owes
to this method of cultivation that it
s becoming a most important wine
~roducing country, as may be gauged
rom the fact that~ln 1886 it sent to
rance 10,500,000 gallons-.
C
r-roteconf from Eline BUhietfr
Commenting on the penetrative 1
pwers of the small arms lately intro
luced into the armies of all the great
powers, Col. Lonsdale Hale states
that the minimum thickness of ordi
pary soil affording 'rotection is thirt~y
Inches, while single brick walls, afteg -
being struck a few times, no longer
afford any cover. The new Germad
rifle ranges up to 4,000 yards, and at
00 yards the bullet will penetrate,
ten inches of fir or pine and fourteeri
nches of sand. At 450 yards thd
buliet can pierce three or four ranks*
and at 1,300 yards a man may no
longer consider himself safe, even if
phe bullet has already penetrated two
of his comrades. With regard to
"smokeless powder," the same au
thority observes that, though the re
port of the rifles when fired is heard,
it is very diffcult to see whence the
rifles ar fired. Under certain - con
ditions no trace of smoke can be dis
tinguished. Minor acts of surprise,
he considers, will be more frequent
in the future, and will often partake
of tbe nature of ambuscades. Very
small bodies of cavalry, intimately
connected with infantry, forming in
action patrols of the latter, will,
therefore, be necessary and it will no
onger be possible to discover well
posted batteries. On the whole, Col
Hale considers that only a war can
absolutely decede what the effects of
the improvement of in small arms
will be. One thing, however, is cer
tan-that is, that the diffculty of
l eading troops has considerably An
creased. -London News.
Toor Man.
Poor man; he is bored to death to
buy ticketS to amateur entertain
ments, and then bored to death wnen
he attenti.-A thison Globe
BLOUSE WITH KNITTED ST AR
ROSETTES.
INFLUENCE OF BALMY AIRS
Lre They Bostile to the Best Vigor c
Encouraging?
In the name of reason ana verac
y, out of what peoples have mainl
oome the art, the science, the powe
,nd the glory of the world? Froi
vhat nations have we receive
he richest legacies of the huma
)rain and soul? From the dweller
n harsh climates, or from thos
:ountries where, life being somethin
)eside a ceaseless struggle with th
lements, the soul has had time t
dlossom? asks a writer in Kate Field
fashhigton. How about all thos
mervated and emasculated race.
Lnyway?
How about Arabia, which preserve
'or ages the learning of the world
Iow about the entire Orient, "th
riginatress, the nest of languages
he bequeather of poems?" Ho'
bout the Hebrews "ancient of at
lents;" the old empires of Assyri
nd Persia and India, venerabl
nother ahd priestess? Ho Y abou
,gypt, builder of imperishable mont
nents?
Did not Palestine send forth
)rophet or two under her midsumme
!hristmas stars?
Were not a "flowing literature,"
ather splendid chivalry, a Cid Can
eadar, a Cervantes sent out of Spair
nd a Columbus and a Galileo out c
taly?
The ancient Romans were a tolei
Lble active and energeric body of mer
onsidering the enervating climate
body with a good deal of mind t
eaven it withal. Several more tha:
verage bright minds came out c
ther cities of the peninsula. Bay an
aurel come near hiding the lilies c
lorence.
Gree.ce reared herself an immorta
emple or two beneath her smilin
kies.
Art, science, philosophy, statecrafi
he matchless craft of war, powei
:nowledge, beauty, all the graces c
lying and the strength of life, th
)et, the painter, the musician, th
tudent, the philosopher, the herc
he saint, have all been cradled i
he breast of the sacred south. Th~
ight of the world through a thousan
rindows has streamed from a souti:
~rn sun.
Against their glorious record wha
hall we set? Russia, Norway
weden, Great Britain-even -Ge:
any, the new home, but not th
other or the birthplace, of music
[he sum of these and many mor
ill not balance by a long count th
plendid overweight of the other.
Save~d by the Pony.
Elephants are extremely afraid c
orses, writes Major John Butler 11
Travels in Assam." To that fac
e owed the deliverance of his wi!
nd child from a terrible deatt
ith them he was travers.ng thb
ngle over an exceedingly rougl
>ad, through forest and grass jungl
ternateiy. The way had to be cu
s they advanced.
I was in the lead on a large ele
bant in my howdah, with a goo<
attery of guns, when about midda:
heard behind me a general cry c
larm, and hastily .rode to the scena
t danger.
It seems that just after I ha<
assed, with the coolies, who cu
own the jungle, a huge Muikna ele
hant had rushed from the jungle il
terrible rage, and pursued the lit
e baggage elephant, which was jus
ehnd my wife and childi The lit
e elephant screeched, and fled fo
Is life, straight ahead.
Fortunately a pony was led besida
e paikee which contained my wif
nd child. The wild elephant wa
ose upon them, and they close<
eir eyes in horror, expecting to b
ragged from their places ani
rampled to death. At that momen
e great beast caught sight of th
~ony. It stopped short, turned aside
nd tied back to the jungle as if pur
ed by an evil spirit.
The men were filled with astonish
ent. Most of them had fled to th
rotection or sheltering trees, leavin
y wife and child alone.
BLOUSE WITH EMBRO]
DRESS WITH
AT A PARK SALO.
Hme. Aubernon Bules Her Guests in
Most Autocratic Way.
In the Century, Th. Bentzon na
bright and Gossipy article on "C
versation in France." The wri
lescribes at length and with gr
admiration, the salon of Mme. j
ernon, whose Saturday dinners
one of the features of Paris sot
life. Her guests are chosen with'1
most particular care, and she here
sees that they take up only worl
topics for discussion.
Some lazy minds think that c
versation at Mime. Aubernon's d
ners must be wori rather than ple
ure. and that she behaves among I
guests like the leader of a sympho;
bringing each instrument to act:
or to silence. 1t is perfectly ti
. that she Dermits no private chats
tween neighbors, which would b4
tresa ass against the good traaiti
of the eighteenth century; she fit
it) impolite and vulgar, injurio
to the general effect, and when
some rare chance It happens. i
Y rings a tiny bell in the most deci
' way. She was punished once for t
3 tyranny. While some one was spe;
i lng'--I think it was Bardoux, I
n biographer of Chateaubriand's loy
S friends, Mme. de Beaumont a
e Mme.* de Custine,-another gu
g whispered to the lady seated ne:-t
e him; the tinkling of the bell stop
0 his untimely words. When M. B
' doux had ended, Mime. Auberi
e bade the guilty cne speak in
, turn.
"What had you to say?" she
i quired.
? "Oh, little, very little," he
e swered in a rather distressed way.
, "1 am sure it was something va
Y able; we cannot. afford to lose
- ray, speak out:"
a With hypocritical modesty theo
e er demurred. At last, with e
t lowered upon his plate, he answer
- " w. s saying I wou:ld willingly hi
taken a little more salad."
a There was a laugh and some c
fusion for ,the autocrat. In tru
Mime. Aubernon deserves to be cal
a by Dr. Holmes-who, if he che
would have the seat at hei rig
- hand-the autocrat of the dinn
table.
Nor are the Saturday ainners 1
only ones she gives; t-ewe is
Wednesday dinner for younger a
less well-trained guests-dinrers
anarchists, as she calls them, bet
; tney get to be'tamed and broken
harness.
oflee Maidens of Francee
Near the little town of La Ter
in France, there Is an apple-t
which bears only imperfect blossor
and the fact having long been
covered, has given rise to a very be;
tiful custom among the maidens
the village.
e When spring-time comes, and 1
eapple-tree hails the joyous time iw
a glad burst of blossoms, the mai
ens of the village arm themsel
Swith gay ribbons and perfect bl
~soms from their favorite trees, and
Ssinging to the lonely tree which]
produced only the imperfect blosso:
SEach girl then Kisses a cluster of1
imperfect blossoms, and in so do!
:lusts the former with the pollen fr
the latter. She then ties a dist
?guishing ribbon near to the clus
eshe had dusted.,
eThe tree looks very gay when t1
decorated, with the pink blosso
smilhng up at Heaven, and the dail
ribbons fluttering in the perfut
t laden air; but the best of it is wi
the petals fall like "summer sno1
tand the little apples begin to sha
aThan the maidens pluck off all1
the best fruit, and let that take
the strength of the tree, so that1
apples grow famously and come
aperfection,
LAnd now is seen the strange p
of the affair; the apples, instead
- being all of one kind, are as differs
Ias the blossoms that kissed their b]
Ssoms, the fact being that the appl
expectly like the apple on the ti
Sfrom which the pollen-bearing bl
soms was taken. So on this one t
Iwill be seen round, rosy-checked
~ples, long, yellow apples, juicy app
-mealy apples, dainty little apples,
S"monstrous big" apples. .Each ma
en has the apple she wished the mC
r An Appreciated Lesso.
SMrs. Chancel-Oh, Henry! I 'a
you had been to church this morni
D 1r. DIves preached one of the I<
Sliest sermons on 'Love our Neighb
Sand the way his remarks made
Sspiteful, hateful Mrs. Gabbers squ
was something that would have d
Syour heart good.-Puck,
Jlmson's Baby.
"Unfortunate thing, that, at
Jimson's baby. It's marked for li
S"No! In what way?" "It's
Ivery image of Jimnson."-Exchat
~DERED IINSERTIONS, AND
PLATEn WAIST.
By Any Other Same.
The young man laid his cigarette
the down on the hall table while he went
in to interview his father on the
s a financial situation. After a few pre
n. liminaries he said:
ter "By the way, pop, can I have a few
eat 'stamps' to-day?"
lu- "Postage stamps?" inquired the
are father innocently.
:iai "No, sir," was the impatient re
the ply; "I mean scads.'"
elf "Scads, my son?" inquired the old
thy gentleman, in mild astonishment.
4"1 mean the 'tin,' of course."
on- "And what is the 'tin,' may J
in. ask?"
as- "Oh, the 'ready,' don't you know?'
ber "No, I don't know."
ny, "Don't you know, 'spondulix'?"
ion "I can't say that I do. Who is
rue he?"
be- "Aw, come off, pop. What I'm out
3 a for is the 'stuff'?"
>ns "What stuff?"
,ds "Why the 'soap,' of course?"
:us "The soap? Are you in need of a
by bath?" and the fatherlooked over his
ihe specs inquiringly.
led "No, no," impatiently. "I mean
,he the sugar."
ak- "Oh; sugar and soap? Going to
he make a plaster are you?"
.y "Plaster nothing. I want the
nd 'chink.'
est "Chink? What's chink, pray?"
tO "Why, it's 'dust.' Anybody knows
>ed that."
ar- "Oh, yes, excuse me. Get the brush
i.n over there."
his ''Tisn't that kind I want. It's
*rocks?'"
in- "Well, there's dust in rocks, Isn't
there?"
an- "Won't you never catch on?" ex
lu- claimed the young man. "I wan't
.u the 'duff,' the 'wherewithal' don't you
know; the 'rhino,' the 'boodle,' plain,
th- ordinary every day cash, pop, that s
what I want."
s "Oh," exclaimed the father in a
tvd greatly relieved tone; "here's a quar
ter," and that's all the young man
on- got.-Free Press. -
th. attention and Memd..
It d
R A good memory is so very useful
i and desirable a thing that persons
. who profess to teach artificial systems
of memorizing easily obtain attention
;he and profitable patronage; but there is
a really no such thing as an "artificial
nd memory," or even an artificially-as
of sisted memory. Many people would
ore undoubtedly have better memories
to than they now have if, in their youth
or in their past life, they had under
stood the simple physiological prin
eiples upon which the memory is
founded. The most important part
te, of the memory is the stowing away of
ree things, not the bringing of them
Ds; forth again; and, if peonle are care
lis- ful. during the period of life which
au- is chiefly occupied in stowing away
Of things' to do this work with atten
tion and thoroughness, and if they
:he are able in after-life to keep them
ith selves in a fairly good state of health
id- and vigor, they are not likely to be
es troubled with poor memory. The
Los- first and most .imsogasL element'df
go memory isthe taking of an impres
as sion in such a way that it is likely tC
ns.~ be retained; the more sharp and vivid
the this Impression is made, the more
ing permanent it is likely to be. Atten
om tion in taking in what we wish to
in- learn, then, is the secret of remem
ter bering it afterwards.
ius Harry.
tfl If the habit of hurry is inimical to
ity valuable work, it is equally so to a
en valuable character. Begun, as it
n usually is, in the daily employment,
it soon becomes a habit of life. In
Ssensibly we come to eat and drink in
all a hurry, and so ruin our digestion or.
the gans; to take our amusements in a
to hurry, and so ruin their recreative
effect; to think in a hurry, and so ar
rtive at false conclusions; to converse
ain a hurry, and so lose all the fine
oft flavor of other minds. Hurry is the
s- enemy of self-control, of manliness,
isof dignity. There never was a greater
mistake than to imagine that it add
ls- to one's Importance by showing how
r numerous and pressing one's duties
ae and responsibilities are. It merely
Lshows that, whatever they may be,
efl one is not equal to them-that one is
~id- not master of the situation. Emer
sson says, "Coolness and absence of
heat and haste indicate fine qualities.
A gentleman makes no noise, a lady
is serene. The Jove of beauty is
merely the love of measure or propor
rh ion. The person who screams, or
og' uses the superlative degree, or con
or,' verses wihhet is quickly left
ht alone."
rm
Women to work the Switches.
In Holland, where a good deal o1
alcoholic liquor is taken-in conse
quence perhaps of tne temptation oj
there being always water at hand t<
out mix with it-men can no longer b4
fe." trusted to work the switches on th(
the railways, and women now fill thci.
ie, places. This is a slap in the face in
__deed to the male sex and a great tri.
umphi to the advocates of femalt
labor. But we have yet to see hov
the thing works. The men say that
there will be looking-glasses in th<
Switcn boxes and that the womer
will never leave them till they hav<
smoothed their last hair and settled
the bow of their last ribbon, and tha1
in the meantime there will be col
[isions; that when left to themselve
they never have been in time for the
train as passengers, and will not be
'more punctual as pointswomnen; and,
finally, that if they hear their lover's
wvhistle anywhere in the neighbor
hood they will pay very little atten
jtion to that of the locomotive. Il
Ithese objections are not valid, con
clude the men, "we are not Dutch,
mien."
Piaying for safetyi
Mr. Cox-John, why do you cal
that pretty type-writer of yours Mar;
Ann? You told me her name wa
Mabel. Mr. Fox-Well, you see,
have a bad habit of speaking in m
sleep, and my wife's name Is Marj
Ann. -Judge.
That's Wherte the Girl Generally Is.
If a woman says her husband pri
posed to her on his knees she is
nice wcman, but her memory is fal
inw. Men don't propose on thei
ONE OF LIF'S SP1YSTERIES.
Why Some People Pass Empty Car SeaI
and Crowd Those rarutaiy Oeupied.
There is one thing that has alwayb
oeen more or less of a mystery to me,
said a traveler to a writer for the
New York Sun, "and that Is the
motive that prompts some passengers
in a car in which there are entirely
vacant seats to tare a seat with
somebody. In some cases the reason
for this is simple enough;'It may be
that the person takes the first seat
he comes to and is satisfied; it may
be that the vacant entire seats are
at the other end of the car aund not
seen at a casual glance; sometimes a
person unaccustomed to travel rather
timidly takes the first seat: but the
person that I have in mind is the
one who either deliberately, or with
what one might call deliberate
thoughtlessness, takes a seat with
somebody when there are vacant en
tire seats i . plain sight. I have seen,
for Instance, a muan sitting by a win
dow, alone in a seat, in a car in
which there was plenty of room,
reading. Knowing that there was
plenty of room he had perhaps sort
of pre-empted that seat, and was
making himself comfortable in it,
and was thinking of nothing but his
reading. Along comes a rather stout
lady, who, though there ib more
room elsewhere, for some to me uk
terly incomprehensible reason, de.
cides that she wants to sit in thai
particular seat. She moves silently.
She halts in the aisle at the end of
the seat, and slowly moves in so that
she can sit down. She says nothing
to the man. She does not even look
at him; she has not looked at him
since the moment that she decided
to take that seat, and he is as yet
unconscious of her presence. Look
ing straight ahead with great calm
ness, she sits down deliberately.
Then the man looks around with a
pained sort of look. He moves closer
to the window and goes on reading,
but he won't regain his inward com
posure for an hour. Now why the
lady should have taken that par
ticular seat is one of the things that
I don't understand."
A' Valuable Metal.
The discovery of deposits of plat
inum in this country would be as
welcome as the finding of a diamond
mine. At present the metal costA
nearly half as much as gold, having
risen greatly in price within the last
three years. It is absolutely Indis.
pensable for many purposes, being
non-corrosive and resisting acids, It
is utilized for chemical apparatus,
scientific instruments and incandes
cent lamps. There is some platinum
in the beach sanas of Oregon, but
not enough to pay for mining. Sma.1
quantities of it have been discovered
recently in the copper mines of Can
ada, where it occurs in a new com
bination with arsenic .
Two-thirds of the world's supply of
platinum comes from two Siberian
mines in the Urai Mountain
metal is obtained the&~& a by pro
dactotf1Thinn. The mining is
done by scoopin gholes ithe ground
to a depth of fifteen feet and then
burrowing, rat fashion, I lld
loads of earth are required to -yield
ffteen pounds of platinum. The big- -
gest nugget -ever found was about
the size of a tumbler. Now the gold
is getting scarce and the laborers
have been drawn off to build the
great Transiberian Railway. Hence
the Increased cost of platinum,
which, unless new deposits are found,
is likely never to be cheaper than it
is at present.
Mrothers and Sisters in PontUes.
The sex which is first in the Sun
day school and last in the jail, which
is most strongly represented at church,
and at prayer meetings, and at mis
sionary meetings, and most feebly
represented in the liquor saloons and
oacco snops or the laud, which Qoes
the least of the world's preaching and
the most of its practicing, which
makes a poor figure in a battle be- --
tween Christian nations and a splen
did figure in a battle between
right and wrong-such a sex
forms a very large part of the power
that makes for righteousness. To
turn this purifying stream away from
politics is equivalent to asserting that
politics has no need of righteousness&i
-Wives and Daughters
Etug of Ail Racing Mascots. -
A peculiar Instance of the bold -
which superstitious belief has on alli
classes of racing men is furnished in
the long line of blind beggars who
line the entrances to each of tbe big
local race tracks. Many racing men
old that as a gilt-edged mascot the
blind man has -no peer on earth.
Those among them who would noc
give a cent to save their own fathers
from starvation cannot leave the
blind beggar empty-handed. The
beggars who have suffieent lnterest
with the race-track owners to ge
tand outside jthe gates reap hand. ~
some returns, and in one season can
realize enough to keep them in comn
fort through the win ter.-New York
World. ________
Bow to Takce Away fie Concelt.I
If you wish to take the conceit out
of a peacock pull out his tail feathers,
g fnd as soon as he finds the glory of
Ihis plumage gone he becomes the
humblest, most subdued and ashamed
looking bird that ever walked the
earth, A peacock In full feather is
so vain and conceited as sometimes
to be reaLlly troublesome. Not satis
fled withi squaliing -at the top of his
discordant voice, and with parading
himself through' the yard and up and
down the walks with expanded plum
age, he will attack cats, dogs and -
even children, and has been known te
seriously injur'e smrall toys or girls
that were incautious enough to yen.
ture within his reach. Plucking his
Stail feathers, however, causes all his
courage to evaporate. He will sneak
around the yard like a whipped
spaniel, will keep out of sight as
much as possible, ar d you will hear
nothing of him and see very littleuon
til his plumage has again grown.
Gobe-Democrat.~
aA IAN In love is the dur~e of hi~
swn fnmagination, and when marriam(
shows him his goddess is a mor tal, he